Sole Trader Business - Want to Switch Electricity Provided from SSE

robatbentley

Quick update!
Found a good provider, EDF, to switch to. Not the best financial gain but should save about £400/year. Flow Energy (http://www.flowenergy.uk.com/) came out tops with a quoted £900/year net gain. Problem was that their quote engine couldn't cope with the massive 26000 units/year that we use, so just emailed them a couple of days ago but still not heard anything back.

The EDF switch hit the rocks as well. Contacted both their retail and business help-lines who were very helpful and said they'd get it sorted. Problem was that their computer systems couldn't cope with the migration from our existing business tariff (on the house) to the destination residential tariff with EDF. i.e. The national database said our addresses didn't appear in their residential list so they couldn't progress my switch. So, the only way around, so they said, was to migrate from a business to residential tariff with my existing provider (SSE) and then switch to EDF. So, kicked-off the email to SSE asking them to do the business-2-residential migration. Now just wait until I hear back from SSE.

...but some improvement on the home front with convincing my family to either start using Economy 7 one hell of a lot more than we do or go to a different non-E7 tariff. They agreed (for now at least) to start using the night-storage heaters, and buy more for the other rooms, stop using the electric bar-heater except for exceptional circumstances, use the dryer and washing machines while still in E7 times... So, some progress:)

macman

Yes, you have to switch your current registration from business to residential first, only then can you switch to another residential tariff.
I was not aware that you are not currently using the NSH's. Why? I had assumed that convectors were only being used for additional heating in the day once the NSH's were discharged.

footyguy

robatbentley wrote: »

Nope - not vat registered.....

Howcome???

Looking at the charges customers are charged, with 3 other instructors on the books, probably some other support staff too, some horses and just the running costs of the building & land, I would have assumed the turnover would be well above the VAT registration threshold.

If not, I think the electric tariff will be the least of your worries.

robatbentley

macman wrote: »

I was not aware that you are not currently using the NSH's. Why? I had assumed that convectors were only being used for additional heating in the day once the NSH's were discharged.

We're using our one and only NSH in one room but we need more of them to cover the rest of the house.

robatbentley

footyguy wrote: »

Howcome???

Looking at the charges customers are charged, with 3 other instructors on the books, probably some other support staff too, some horses and just the running costs of the building & land, I would have assumed the turnover would be well above the VAT registration threshold.

If not, I think the electric tariff will be the least of your worries.

We have good reasons and 40 years experience of running the business, but thanks for your thoughts on this.

JStewer

robatbentley wrote: »

We have good reasons and 40 years experience of running the business, but thanks for your thoughts on this.

The business was only founded in 1987 - 28 years ago at most.